Portfolio, the members’ newsletter of the Norman Rockwell Museum, has been published regularly since 1984. The newsletters contain informative and entertaining articles about Norman Rockwell, American illustration, exhibitions and museum happenings. Articles are written by authoritative sources including Norman Rockwell Museum curators and outside scholars. Illustrators whose work has been detailed inPortfolio include Rockwell Kent, Charles Schultz, Winslow Homer and J.C. Leyendecker.

The newest Portfolio:

Autumn '13 - Winter '14 Award-winning illustrator Wendell Minor drew his way through childhood in Aurora, Illinois, inspired by America’s heartland and the richly–illustrated magazines that were so much a part of life at the [...]

Autumn '13 - Winter '14 Award-winning illustrator Wendell Minor drew his way through childhood in Aurora, Illinois, inspired by America’s heartland and the richly–illustrated magazines that were so much a part of life at the [...]

Summer - Autumn 13 On December 21, 1937, visionary American animator Walt Disney enchanted audiences and made movie history when he premiered Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Carthay Circle Theater in [...]

Autumn 12 - Winter 13 Inside theaters around the world this past summer, costumed-crusaders and perfectly-chiseled muscle men dominated the big screen: The Avengers; The Amazing Spider-Man; and Batman: The Dark Knight Rises all [...]

Summer-Autumn 2010 William Steig: Love & Laughter, by Stephanie Haboush Plunkett As a child, William Steig (1907-2003) wished that he could run away to sea; and if the Great Depression hadn’t intervened, the acclaimed “King [...]

Julia Morneau2017-03-01T11:38:00+00:00July 5th, 2016|Comments Off on Winter-Spring 2010 To Rockwell With Love: Fan Mail and The Saturday Evening Post, by Jessika Drmacich

Winter-Spring 2010 To Rockwell With Love: Fan Mail and The Saturday Evening Post, by Jessika Drmacich Historical records are filled with references to well known people. Not until the 19th century, however, did the concept [...]

Julia Morneau2017-03-01T11:38:01+00:00July 5th, 2016|Comments Off on Summer 2009 An American institution: Reflections on turning 40, by Laurie Norton Moffatt

Summer 2009 An American institution: Reflections on turning 40, by Laurie Norton Moffatt From the very first day I set foot in the Old Corner House in 1977, I knew there was something special about [...]

Winter 2009 And the Winner Is … America’s Highest Humanities Honor Bestowed on Norman Rockwell Museum It was a day for rejoicing. On November 17, Laurie Norton Moffatt, Director/CEO, stepped up onto a platform at [...]

Summer 2008 Capturing Stockbridge, by Linda Szekely Pero Without deliberately intending to do so, Norman Rockwell spent the last 25 years of his life chronicling the people and places of Stockbridge, Massachusetts. When Rockwell moved [...]

Summer 2007 Ephemeral Beauty: Al Parker and the American Women’s Magazine, 1940-1960, by Stephanie Haboush Plunkett A founder of the modern glamour aesthetic, Alfred Charles Parker (1906-1985), defined the progressive look and feel of published [...]

Winter-Spring 2006 From the Director, Laurie Norton Moffatt It gives me enormous pleasure to announce the launch of a major new project at the Norman Rockwell Museum that will transform the accessibility of our Museum [...]

Autumn – Winter 2006 Norman Rockwell, Year by Year: 1965, by Linda Szekely Pero In 1965, two years after leaving The Saturday Evening Post as their most popular cover artist, Norman Rockwell, 71, was busy [...]

Julia Morneau2016-08-10T13:06:21+00:00July 5th, 2016|Comments Off on Autumn 2004 Building Books: The Art of David Macaulay A Conversation with the Artist, by Stephanie Haboush Plunkett

Autumn 2004 Building Books: The Art of David Macaulay A Conversation with the Artist, by Stephanie Haboush Plunkett An author and artist who has helped us to understand the working and origins of everything from [...]

Summer 2003 Norman Rockwell, Year by Year: 1942, by Linda Pero Vermont living, aside from an occasional Grange Hall square dance or town meeting, provided few distractions for a work-centered artist such as Norn1an Rockwell. [...]

Spring 2003 Norman Rockwell, Year by Year: 1912, by Linda Pero 1912 was full of change and new beginnings for Norman Rockwell. Tackling his assignments with the dedication that earned him the nickname “the Deacon,” [...]

Julia Morneau2016-07-05T14:40:24+00:00July 5th, 2016|Comments Off on Winter 2001 A Closer Look: The Making of James Gurney’s World of Dinosaurs Stamps, by Stephanie Plunkett

Winter 2001 A Closer Look: The Making of James Gurney’s World of Dinosaurs Stamps, by Stephanie Plunkett Mysterious and awe-inspiring, the first dinosaurs appeared around 236 million years ago in the Late Triassic period at [...]

Julia Morneau2016-07-05T14:39:30+00:00July 5th, 2016|Comments Off on Autumn 2000 Pushing the Envelope: The Art of the Postage Stamp, by Stephanie Plunkett

Autumn 2000 Pushing the Envelope: The Art of the Postage Stamp, by Stephanie Plunkett Despite their small scale and relatively discreet placement on the letters and packages that move throughout lives each day, postage stamps [...]

Autumn 1999 The People’s Painter, by Laurie Norton Moffatt Norman Rockwell was the people’s artist. The public adored the work of this skilled storyteller. Rockwell received bagfuls of fan mail that applauded his finely honed [...]

Spring 1999 Hooray for Rockwell’s Hollywood, by Linda Szekely Since Norman Rockwell was best-known for his magazine covers, people are surprised to hear that he also illustrated movie posters. Jarvis Rockwell’s World, by Cris Raymond [...]

Julia Morneau2017-03-01T11:38:02+00:00July 5th, 2016|Comments Off on Autumn 1998 Footlights and Fireflies Summer Theater as Seen by Hirschfeld, by David Leopold

Autumn 1998 Footlights and Fireflies Summer Theater as Seen by Hirschfeld, by David Leopold Long after the curtain has fallen and the last ovation has subsided, the lasting image of the performance is often the [...]

Summer 1998 Winslow Homer: Artist & Illustrator, by Wendy Lutz Winslow Homer occupies a coveted place in the pantheon of American art. A prolific artist of remarkable versatility, Homer’s work spans over half a century. [...]

Julia Morneau2017-03-01T11:38:02+00:00July 5th, 2016|Comments Off on Spring 1998 Changes and Challenges: Rockwell in the 1930s, by Maureen Hart Hennessey

Spring 1998 Changes and Challenges: Rockwell in the 1930s, by Maureen Hart Hennessey The 1930s were a time of crisis and uncertainty in America. The collapse of the U.S. Stock Exchange on October 28, 1929 [...]

Julia Morneau2016-07-05T14:30:53+00:00July 5th, 2016|Comments Off on Winter 1998-99 From Idea to Illustration, by Cris Raymond

Winter 1998-99 From Idea to Illustration, by Cris Raymond The exhibition Visual Solutions is an exciting and informative look into the working process of seven illustrators. It demonstrates the process from the moment a commission [...]

Summer 1997 Family Ties: Rockwell’s Art for Family, Friends and Fun, by Maureen Hart Hennessey During a career that spanned seven decades, Norman Rockwell was extremely prolific, creating over 2,600 published illustrations and the many [...]

Spring 1997 Going Once, Going Twice, SOLD!, by Laurie Norton Moffatt To bidder number 301! Attending an auction is a thrill, a fast-paced drama where art revolves around the center stage, people revolve in and [...]

Julia Morneau2016-08-10T14:18:08+00:00July 5th, 2016|Comments Off on Autumn 1996 The International Reach of Norman Rockwell, by Laurie Norton Moffatt

Autumn 1996 The International Reach of Norman Rockwell, by Laurie Norton Moffatt Norman Rockwell may be America’s most beloved illustrator, but his reputation is spreading around the globe. The widespread interest in and the appreciation [...]

Julia Morneau2016-08-10T14:17:01+00:00July 5th, 2016|Comments Off on Summer 1996 A Magazine and Its Covers, by Jan Cohn

Summer 1996 A Magazine and Its Covers, by Jan Cohn For over six decades, the Saturday Evening Post was one of America’s most popular magazines. Even today, older readers recall favorite writers, stories, and characters. [...]

Spring 1996 Norman Rockwell’s World of Scouting, by Maureen Hart Hennessey While it is true that Norman Rockwell is perhaps best known for his covers for The Saturday Evening Post, his calendar illustrations and other [...]

Julia Morneau2016-08-10T14:14:32+00:00July 5th, 2016|Comments Off on Autumn 1995 The Art of Enchantment, by Stephanie H. Plunkett

Autumn 1995 The Art of Enchantment, by Stephanie H. Plunkett “Now the great thing about illustrating a classic is that it is alive. When you read it the scenes-character, setting, mood-jump right off the page, [...]

Julia Morneau2017-03-01T11:38:03+00:00July 5th, 2016|Comments Off on Summer 1995 Building an Art Collection, by Laurie Norton Moffatt

Summer 1995 Building an Art Collection, by Laurie Norton Moffatt One of the most exciting moments for a museum director is adding more art to the collection! Museums celebrate the arrival of new paintings, objects, [...]

Spring 1995 Molly Punderson Rockwell, by Linda Szekely Mary (Molly) Punderson was born in Stockbridge in 1896. She graduated from Williams High School and Radcliffe College, and, in 1921, joined Milton Academy where she taught [...]

Spring 1994 Curator’s Corner, by Maureen Hart Hennesey Norman Rockwell considered the development of an idea for a cover story as probably the most important element of an illustration, and coming up with fresh ideas [...]

Summer 1994 Curator’s Corner, by Maureen Hart Hennesey On January 24, 1994, The James Beard Foundation presented the Portrait of Felipe Rojas-Lombardi to The Norman Rockwell Museum. Although Norman Rockwell did not consider himself a [...]

Autumn 1994 Curator’s Corner, by Maureen Hart Hennesey While Norman Rockwell is best known for his magazine cover illustrations, advertising and other commercial art comprise the largest category of illustration work Rockwell created. During his [...]

Autumn 1993 Curator’s Corner, by Maureen Hart Hennesey Norman Rockwell’s process for creating an illustration included a number of steps as he progressed from getting the initial idea to sending the final oil painting to [...]

Autumn 1992 Artyfacts, by Kim Conley The proliferation of tales with a medieval theme is one example of legendary storytelling which resonates throughout Western literature. Norman Rockwell was not unaffected by medieval archetypes. Rockwell’s Political [...]

Spring 1992 Curator’s Corner, by Maureen Hart Hennessey Norman Rockwell’s process for creating an illustration followed several steps, from the development of an idea through the final painting. One important component was the final charcoal [...]

Autumn 1991 Curator’s Corner, by Maureen Hart Hennessey As a chronicler of American history, Norman Rockwell is best known for his illustrations of ordinary people in everyday situations. At the same time, he was in [...]

Summer 1991 Macaulay on Rockwell When David Macaulay was a young lad, he dreamed of being an artist. Sometimes, after looking at a Rockwell Saturday Evening Post cover or two, he even experimented with the [...]

Autumn 1990 Fitzpatricks Donate $250,000 to Museum The board of trustees of The Norman Rockwell Museum is pleased to announce that a gallery in the new museum will be named for Senator and Mrs.John H. [...]

Spring 1990 Curator’s Corner, by Maureen Hart Hennessey American museums have relied, throughout this century, on the generosity of individual and corporate donors who have supported a variety of programs-from exhibitions, to capital drives, to [...]

Winter 1989 Hallmark Loans Holiday Pieces for Special Exhibition Season’s Greetings From Norman Rockwell: Holiday Images from Hallmark Cards, a special exhibition of 11 original Rockwell paintings and two preliminary works commissioned by Hallmark Cards [...]

Summer 1989 Curator’s Corner, by Maureen Hart Hennessey Norman Rockwell’s 64-year association with the Boy Scouts of America resulted in some of his best-known illustrations – those of young Scouts in action, done for the [...]

Spring 1988 Robert A. M. Stern Wins Museum Gallery Competition the firm of Robert A. M. Stern Architects of New York is the winner of the limited invitational competition conducted by the Museum to select [...]

Autumn 1987 An Amazing Story: The Spielberg/Warner Communications Gift Steven Spielberg, the renowned film producer and director, in conjunction with Warner Communications, Inc., has made a major donation to the capital campaign.

Summer 1987 Rockwell’s Private Collection on Exhibit A significant portion of Norman Rockwell’s private art collection, never before seen by the public, is on exhibit at the Museum. Curator’s Corner: Aunt Ella Takes a Trip, [...]

Winter 1987 Curator’s Corner, by Laurie Norton Moffatt Norman Rockwell touched the lives of the ordinary and the famous, and, though famous in his own right, was not immune to a case of the jitters [...]

Summer 1985 “Lost” Rockwell Painting Returns Recently the William A. Farnsworth Library and Art Museum in Rockland, Maine, received as a bequest a Rockwell painting which this Museum quickly identified as an oil, it is [...]